Gun mount



Jan. 15, 1946.

c. H. KASCH GUN MOUNT Filed May 27, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet l grwcn vtob Charles H-Ka5ch Jan. 15,1946. c. H. KASCH 2,392,851

GUN MOUNT Filed May 27, 1942 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 Swan,

charm; fLKESEh' C. H. KASCH Jan, 15, 1946.

GUN MOUNT 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 27, 1942 3mm l'lharlasl-LKasc'l-L it is aimed and fired by a single operator.

Patented Jan. 15, 1946 OFFICE GUN MOUNT Charles H. Kasch, Davenport, Iowa.

Application May 27, 1942, SerialNo. 444,702

(Granted under the act or March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 O. G. '757) 3 Claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention pertains to gun mounts and more particularly to an anti-aircraft gun mount.

To facilitate tracking a fast moving target, it is highly desirable to provide an anti-aircraft gun with a mount which enables the gun to be elevated and traversed quickly and accurately. Furthermore it is sometimes necessary to maneuver the gun slowly and with precision. Where power driven means are employed to move the gun and mount, this movement is best controlled and the Weapon utilized to best advantage when A simple control arrangement is most desirable where one operator is manning the gun since it promotes his mental and physical coordination thereby increasing the speed of operation of the weapon and improving the accuracy of its fire. Froman economic and practical standpoint it is expedient to employ conventional power units and control devices in conjunction with the gun mount.

It is therefore an object of this invent-ion to provide a power-driven anti-aircraft gun mount which is capable of fast or slow operation under the accurate control of a single operator.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple power-control arrangement which can be quickly mastered by a gun operator.

A further object of the invention is to provide a manually controlled power-driven gun mount with automatic power-stop control features.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a gun mount organization which includes conventional power and control units.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the mount comprises a base to which a carriage is rotatably secured. A conventional internal combustion engine is secured to the carriage and rotates it about the base. The gun is mounted on suitable trunnions on the carriage and its movement in elevation and depression is accomplished by a second internal combustion engine which is secured to the carriage. A standard transmission unit interconnects this engine with suitable gears for tilting the gun. A similar unit is employed with the carriage rotating engine and the gearing which moves the carriage about its vertical axis. The gun operator is provided with a drivers seat similar to that in an automobile. A separate foot accelerator controls the speed of each driving motor and a separate hand lever can be rocked about either sideof a neutral point to control each of the transmissions and hence the direction of rotation of the carriage and also the elevation or depression of the gun. These treadle accelerators and hand levers are positioned with rela tion to the seat to give the operator i-ull and complete control of the gun mount, and their operation is so simple that they can be mastered in a, :short space of time and with little difficulty. A' periscopic sight is coupled to the gun for aiming it and is equipped with an adjustable telescope which has a special harness or head gear conditioned to encircle the operator's head whereby he can bring the telescope into focus by a simple movement of his head. Thus the control of the gun is within the entire province of one operator, particularly where the functioning of the gun is automatic. Since 2.90 elevation of the gun in conjunction with a mount having a 360 horizontal traverse virtually includes a complete field of antiaircrait fire, it has been found advantageous to stop the gun when the barrel reached the extreme vertical and the extreme horizontal positions. Automatic means are provided for accomplishing this, thus preventing the gun barrel from being rotated below the horizontal and striking portions of the mount whereby the barrel and mount would be damaged. This enables the-operator to concentrate fully on hitting his target and inasmuch as the manipulation of the controls is simple and non-confusing it leads to dextrous operation.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects and advantages thereof will clearly appear from a description of a preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of the gun mount with parts thereof in section,

Fig. 2 is an elevational View at right angles to the representation of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1, a motor drive being omitted,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevational view of a conventional transmission unit, the housing thereof and portions of the unit being shown in section,

Figs. 5 and 6 are vertical sectional views on the lines 5--5 and 6- 6, respectively, of Fig. 4,

Fig.7 is an enlarged side elevational view of the automatic gun elevating and depressing stop control mechanism,

Fig. 8 is an end view thereof, and

the well knownmanner. .right side of theseat (Fig- 1 is coupled to a --central.shaft 36 .(see als o Figs. 1 and 9) which Fig. 9 is an enlarged view, partly in section, of a control shaft detail.

Referring to Fig. 1, a :base It is provided with an annular bearing race II which carries suitable anti-friction bearings I2 and rotatably supports a gun carriage or turntable IS. The .base has a central frusto-conical arrangement [4 which mates with a complementary housing l5 on the carriage. The upper portion it of this housing has an annular bearing race I! which retains suitable anti-friction rollers [8 which support a grooved plate It that is bolted to the top of the central frusto-conical arrangement I4) of the base ID. The aforementioned bearing organizations not only rotatably niount'the' car- 5 riage on the base but also serve itor'hold those I members together in positive engagement." Po;

sitioned'at one side o'f'the carriage Band inf:

tegral therewith are a pair of spaced uprights ,26

(Fig. 2) which at their upper ends 2! Journal the 2 'trunnions '22 of a-suitable-anti-aircraft gun 23 (showninphantom).'-- Y r I The base ID has secured thereto-by fasteners 24 -a ring gear 25. --Mounted on the carriage I3is a suitable motor such as an internal combustion 25 engine 26 which is coupled in a conventional manner to a transmission 21. V .The output end of the transmissioncarries a worm gear 28 (Figs. 1 and 3)-which engages the fixed ring gear 25 of the base "thereby serving 'as the means for rotating the carriage about the base. The transmission is of conventional construction and includes a clutch and reversing gear which will be described in more detail subsequently. An operators seat 29 with an adjustable height control 30 is connected to 5 one of the uprights 26 by a suitable horizontal bracket3l. .A strap 32 may be provided for embracing the operators waist to hold him in one position on the seat. Pivotedtoa sloping member 33 on the carriage is an acceleratortreadle 34 which is connected .by conventional means (not shown) tothe carburetor of the engine26.

Treadle 34 controls the speed of the engine and hence the speed of rotation of thegcarriage in isiconnected ,to the usualreversing element (not 1 shown) of the transmission 21 through suitable linkage 31, 38, and 39. Asshownin Fig.2 the lever 35 is the neutralposition and when rocked away from the vertical as indicated by the arrows it will cause the carriage to be selectively rotated either clockwise or counterclockwise.

. Motor 40 operates through transmission 4|, shaft 42, worm gear 43 and sector gear 44 to oscillatethe gun 23 about its horizontal trunnions 22, Sector gear 44 may be mounted on one of the trunnions of the gun as represented in Figs.

1 and 2 and permits the gun to be elevated from a horizontal-position to a; vertical position.

Figs. 4-6 illustrate a conventional transmission unit which is adapted for use with either power plant but will be'described in connection with the gun elevating mechanism. 7 A housing 45 encloses the structure and journals a drive shaft 46 which is connected to the motor through a flexible coupling 41. Spur gear. 48 secured to shaft 46 engages a gear 49 which is normally freely rotatable on driven shaft 59. Secured to one side of gear 49 is a housing 5| containing'a well known friction disk assembly 52, a portion of which is coupled to the shaft 56 and the other portion is secured to housing 5|. Fingers 53 are pivoted to the housing so that when moved radially outward Ahand lever 35 on theres from the position shown in Fig. 4 they bring the clutch disks into engagement and yieldingly couple the gear 49 to the shaft 50. A cam slide 54 which is reciprocable on the driven shaft has a.

pair of spaced cam faces 55 which are conditioned to actuate the fingers 53 and similar fingers 56 on a second housing 51 and friction disk assembly 58, associated with another gear 59 on the other end of shaft 50. While gears 49and 59 are free to rotate on the shaft, they have no axial movement thereon. Cam slide 54 is connected to external control elements through a bell-crank lever 60 having a'hifurcated portion 6!, for engagement with a groove 62 in the slide; see Figs.

1, 4 and 5. Another end of the drive shaft 46 has positively coupledthereto a gear 63 which .engageswith an idler gear, 64 mounted on an idler shaft 65 and meshing with gear 58. It is apparent that when cam slide 54 is moved to the left in Figs. 1 and i, clockwise rotation will beimparted to the driven shaft50. and whenthe slide is pushed to .the right; counterclockwise torque will betransmitted through driven-shaft because of the idlergear 64 which reversesthe direction of rotation- The friction disk gassemblies also permit the application of, .a gradual torque, and a. quick reversal of the position of, the cam slide can be employed to impart a braking effort on a body being moved-by the driven shaft.

A linkage 666l connects thegbell crank fill .topne end of a tubular. shaft 68 (Figs. lands) which slidably encloses the central shaft 36; The tubular shaft is iournalled in suitable uprightslia attached to thebed of the carriage. Hand lever 16 is positively coupled to the tubular shaft 68 and is disposed onthe left side of the seat as V viewed in Fig. 1. When this leveris pushed either to. the right or to the leftof the vertical neutral position,it controls its transmissionunit 7 so as to elevate or depress the gun. A left accelerator treadle II is connected in the usual manner (not shown) to the gun elevating motor 46 for governing the speed thereof.

' Since the gun is to oscillate betweena vertical and a horizontal position, it is desirable/to provide automatic stop control features. Spaced apart on the sector, gear-'44 andon opposite sides thereof as illustratedin Figs. 1, 7 and 8 are apair of cams (2 and 7 3." Thegear 44 is arranged to oscillate between the forked portionfiil of a lever 15 which is pivotally mounted on the shaft 42 which carries the worm gear 43. The lower end 16 of the lever 15 is coupledtoa link 11 which in turn is connected to the'gu'n'elevating and depressing lever 16. When the gun is being elevated and reaches a position of maximum elevation,

the-lower cam 13 engages one side 'of the forked portion 74 and'through'the link 'Hfpulls the lever 16 into the vertical neutralpositio'n lasshown in Fig. 8 and throws the transmission' il into neutral thereby disconnecting the powersource and bringing the gun to rest;i This operation is aua hinge l9to 9. blocks!) which is adjustablealong elfiha ii vc tq asiid e l men s of a telescope 83. The telescope comprises the usual optical elements and its fixed portion 84 is aligned with a periscope t having a reflector 86 and a scanning and sighting tube 81. The sighting tube is mounted on one of the trunnions of the gun and parallel to the axis of the barrel. The telescope is focused by moving the operators head toward or away from the fixed portion 84 so as to move the sliding element 82. The pivotal and adjustment features on the headgear permit its ready adaptation to the heads of different observers.

While the gun mount has been illustrated in connection with a single gun, it is to be understood that it may be modified by One skilled in the art to accommodate a plurality of weapons mounted for simultaneous use. The guns may be automatic if desired and their trigger or firing mechanisms may be disposed within convenient reach of the operator.

I claim:

1. A power driven gun mount comprising a base, a carriage rotatably mounted on the base and positively coupled thereto, said carriage being rotatable about a vertical axis, a gunners seat on the carriage, power driven means secured to the carriage for imparting rotation thereto, said means including a transmission unit hav ing a forward and a reverse gear, a hand lever on one side of the seat operatively connected with the transmission unit for keeping the carriage at rest or for controlling its movement in either of two directions, an accelerator treadle adjacent the seat operatively connected to the power driven means for controlling the speed thereof, supports on said carriage for mounting a gun about a horizontal axis, a second power driven means on said carriage for elevating a gun, said means including a second transmission unit having a forward and a reverse gear, a hand lever on the other side of the seat operatively connected with the second transmission unit for controlling the elevating or lowering movement of the gun, and a second accelerator treadle adjacent the seat operatively connected to the second power driven means for controlling the speed thereof.

2. A power driven gun mount comprising a base, a carriage rotatably mounted on the base and positively coupled thereto, said carriage being adapted to be rotated about a vertical axis,

a gunners seat on the carriage, power driven means secured to the carriage for imparting rotation thereto, said means including a transmission having a forward and a reverse gear, a hand lever on one side of said seat operatively connected with said transmission unit for keeping said carriage at rest or for controlling its movement in either of two directions, an accelerator treadle adjacent said seat operatively connected to said power driven means for controlling the speed thereof, supports on said carriage for mounting a gun about a horizontal axis, trunnions secured to said gun and journaled in said supports and adapted to oscillate said gun about a horizontal axis, a second power driven means on said carriage for elevating the gun, said means including a second transmission unit having a forward and a reverse gear, a hand lever on the other side of said seat operatively connected with said second transmission unit for controlling the elevating or lowering movement of the gun, a second accelerator treadle adjacent said seat operatively connected to said second power driven means for controlling the speed thereof, a sector gear mounted on one of said trunnions and adapted to oscillate said gun, a worm gear rotatably mounted in mesh with said sector gear, said sector gear being adapted to oscillate the trunnion on which it is mounted for elevating and depressing said gun about a horizontal axis, a shaft operatively connected to said second power driven means and to said worm gear and adapted to rotate the latter in either of two directions, automatic stop means on said sector gear spaced apart on opposite sides thereof and adapted to limit the degree of oscillation of said gun, a bifurcated member pivotally mounted on said shaft and having one prong adapted to engage one of said stop means when the gun is in a position of maximum elevation and having its other prong positioned to engage the other of said stop means when the gun reaches zero elevation.

3. In combination, a power driven gun mount comprising a carriage, supports secured to said carriage for mounting said gun about a horizontal axis, trunnions secured to said gun and journaled in said supports and adapted to oscillate said gun about a horizontal axis, means for oscillating said gun about said horizontal axis comprising a sec tor gear mounted on one of said trunnions and adapted to oscillate said gun, a worm gear rotatably mounted to mesh with said sector gear, said sector gear being adapted to oscillate the trunnion on which it is mounted for elevating and depressing said gun about a horizontal axis, a shaft operatively connected to power driven means and to said worm gear and adapted to rotate the latter, power driven means mounted on said carriage and operatively connected with said shaft, said power driven means including a transmission unit having a forward and a reverse gear and being adapted to rotate said shaft in either of two directions, a hand lever mounted on said carriage and operatively connected to said transmission unit for controlling the elevating or lowering movement of the gun, automatic stop means on said sector gear spaced apart on opposite sides thereof and adapted to limit the degree of oscillation of said gun, a bifurcated member pivotally mounted on said shaft and having one prong adapted to engage one of said stop means when the gun is in a position of maximum elevation and having its other prong positioned to engage the other of said stop means when the gun reaches zero elevation.

CHARLES H. KASCH. 

